21 de dez de 2007

HK director/actor Stephen Chow (Kung Fu Hustler) is producing, with20th Century Fox, the film version of the japanese mangá by Akira Toriyama, Dragon Ball Z.

The story follows Goku (Chatwin), a warrior alien who protects the Earth from an endless stream of rogues bent on dominating the universe and controlling mystical objects known as Dragon Balls.

James Wong is the director and screenwriter.

"Dragonball" is shooting in Mexico City and Los Angeles, and the cast includes actress Jamie Chung (Chi Chi), and actors Justin Chatwin (as Goku) and James Marsters (as Piccolo).

Park Joon-hyung (G.O.D)will play bad boy Yamcha, a thief turned Z fighter. American actress Emmy Rossumplays Bulma, a scientist and inventor whose father’s Dragon Ball is stolen by the villain, Piccolo. And Eriko Tamura (Yaeko in TV series “Heroes”) will play the character of Mai.

Finally, chinese star Chow Yun-Fat will play Master Roshi, Goku's mentor, that helps him achieve the highest state of fighting and spiritual powers.

16 de dez de 2007

South Korean actor (b. November 21, 1970), started his career working on stage and in minor roles in films. His debut was in the 1996 comedy film The Adventures of Mrs. Park, followed by Green Fish, The Quiet Family, and Die Bad.

"When I made my debut, people said I had too plain a face (to be a successful actor)", Jeong said in a recent interview with local newspaper Chosun Ilbo. "But now they say that I can play various roles because of my normal appearance".

The work with director/playright Jang Jin(The Happenings and The Spy), was very important to his acting formation. In Jang Jin's third film Guns and Talks, Jeong played one member of the film's central quartet of assassins. Shortly after that he turned in a memorable performance in Ryoo Seung-wan's No Blood No Tears. Around this time he began to be associated in audience's minds with tough, intense, masculine characters who would start a fight at the slightest provocation. His role as a death row convict turned soldier in the record-breaking Silmido marked the height of this stage of his career. This is the only Jeong´s film that I watched by now, and I love it. He and Seol Kyong-gu make a great duet!

“Behind the perfect portrayals of all the different characters, he takes a long time to prepare to show what is hidden behind his plain appearance. In the "dark period", as he recalls, when he was eager to act but no one seemed to need him, he set up a video camera in front of him and played various roles, which helped him develop a diversity of emotions for different characters.”

After this, Jeong was acclaimed for his performance in the romantic comedy Someone Special (another Jang Jin film), showing his impressive versatility. And again the sucessfull partnership with director Jang Jin was saw in the hit Welcome to Dongmakgol, based on one of Jang Jin's plays which Jeong had also performed in, as a war-weary North Korean officer who befriends his counterparts from the South. Next,in Wedding Campaign he plays a shy rural farmer who travels to Uzbekistan in the hopes of finding a wife.

In 2006 he collaborated with Jang Jin again on the gangster drama Righteous Ties, and was part of director Song Chang-soo's comedy My Captain Mr. Underground.

Jeong´s latest film is Going by the Book (2007), by first time director Ra Hee-chan. Jeong and Ra both have a history with influential director Jang Jin. They worked together on director Jang Jin's 2005 film Murder, Take One, Ra as an assistant director. Jeong plays a righteous and punctual policeman that follows rules to the extremes and it causes his downfall from detective to traffic agent. When he is given the role of a bank robber in a bank robbery simulation, he again fails to grasp the situation and goes too far, causing such mayhem that the media rush to the scene to cover the 'bank robbery'.

News: “Director Jang Jin has made it big once again. His latest comedy Going by the Book topped the box office in its first week and attracted 1.2 million viewers in ten days. It was number one in advance tickets on all reservation sites in the fourth week of October and has topped the box office for the second week. Jang's witty script about a mock bank robbery drill, coupled with new face Ra Hee-chan's directing and Jeong Jae-yeong's seasoned acting, has grabbed audience attention. The film received a record score for a comedy in a preview screening. And since being released, word-of-mouth praise continues to spread.”

Ang Lee´s Lust, Caution shines at the International Film FestivalsDirected by Ang Lee, Lust, Caution was shot in China and partly produced by foreign entities, but was financed and distributed by U.S. companies.

After winning 7 prizes at the 44th Golden Horse Awards in Taiwan, including best film, director and actor (Tony Leung Chiu-wai), and winning the Golden Lion at the 64th Venice Film Festival, Lust, Caution goes to Hollywood.

The IFC Independent Spirit Awards in Santa Monica, Los Angeles in February:
Ang Lee's latest production Lust, Caution is a multi-nominee; the film's stars Tony Leung and Tang Wei are up for Best Actor and Actress honors, while Rodrigo Prieto's cinematography is also under consideration.

And the Golden Globes...

... Lust, Caution was nominated for Best Foreign Language film by the 65th Golden Globes in Los Angeles. The award ceremony is slated for Jan. 13, 2008.
Along with Lust, Caution, four other films were also nominated as Best Foreign Language films. They are 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days (Romania), The Diving Bell and the Butterfly (France), The Kite Runner (U.S.), and Persepolis (France).Source: http://english.cri.cn/3086/2007/12/14/1221@304605.htm

We´re still waiting to see Lust, Caution in South America.

THC asks: Did you watch Lust, Caution? Do you prefer Ang Lee´s American films or the Taiwan/China productions?